The Middle East is, once again, moving on a trajectory toward a new total conflagration, with US forces in Hormuz setting fire to a tanker of Iranian interests, which had earlier attempted to break the American blockade, at the moment when US President Donald Trump announces that new full-scale bombings against Tehran will begin on April 10. Specifically, on the afternoon of June 10, the US opened fire on an oil tanker that was allegedly attempting to violate the naval blockade of Iran, according to CENTCOM. The strike follows previous statements by US President Donald Trump, "the United States intends to launch another powerful strike against Iran". "We are going to hit them today (10/6), and hard indeed. We will resume the bombings. We have the right to do so. They shot down our helicopter", stated the US President. By no coincidence, it became known that on the afternoon of the same day US B-52 strategic bombers took off from a base in Sicily heading toward the Middle East. However, despite the warmongering fanfare. the US received an unexpected diplomatic blow from India, whose diplomats summoned the US ambassador for explanations. An arbitrary action by the US Navy in the Gulf of Oman outraged New Delhi.
The tanker Settebello in flames off Hormuz after a US strike
A fierce escalation is recorded in the Straits of Hormuz, where the US Navy opened fire on an oil tanker that was allegedly attempting to violate the naval blockade of Iran, according to CENTCOM.
? Videos have emerged of a tanker burning in the Strait of Hormuz. pic.twitter.com/SlMntDy9Bi
— S p r i n t e r (@SprinterPress) June 10, 2026
Specifically, the United States struck the Palau flagged tanker Settebello in the Gulf of Oman, according to an announcement issued by the US Central Command (CENTCOM) on its social media account. "For the second consecutive day, US forces disabled an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, after another vessel violated the blockade by attempting to transport oil from Iran . US aircraft struck the vessel's engine room with precision munitions after the crew repeatedly failed to comply with instructions from US forces", the command noted.
Americans deploy B-52s from the US and Sicily
Operation Epic Fury appears to have re-entered a phase of full restart. The US Air Force is expected to carry out a new wave of heavy airstrikes against targets in Iran, with the participation of B-52H Stratofortress strategic bombers deployed at RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom, as well as at the US base in Sicily.
???? A U.S. B-52 just went full ghost mode; transponder turned off mid-flight, heading straight into the Middle East from Sicily.
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) June 10, 2026
Source: @flightradar24 / Writer: Claudio pic.twitter.com/AkzYGqBk7q
The first strikes are expected to take place on the night of June 10, as indeed foreshadowed by the US President.
Trump in a frenzy: New strikes against Iran begin
The United States intends to launch another powerful strike against Iran, US President Donald Trump announced, in a live broadcast from the White House via YouTube. "We are going to hit them today, and hard indeed. We will resume the bombings. We have the right to do so. They shot down our helicopter", stated the head of state. Donald Trump mentioned that there was a bomb on the helicopter and that "Iran was lucky it did not explode".
U.S. President Donald J. Trump states that the United States will resume strikes today against Iran, stating that we will “attack them very hard,” telling reporters in the Oval Office: “We hit them hard yesterday, and we’re gonna hit 'em again hard today, in case you miss it, in… pic.twitter.com/LWxH10NDxY
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) June 10, 2026
Earlier, US President Donald Trump had announced that Iran shot down a US Apache helicopter over the Straits of Hormuz. He added that both pilots of the helicopter that crashed are safe and unharmed.
"Acquisition of a nuclear weapon is a red line"
US President Donald Trump will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons and views this issue as an absolute "red line", the US Permanent Representative to NATO Matthew Whitaker clarified later, according to Fox News. "Iran cannot have nuclear weapons, that is the starting point. That is the red line... Donald Trump will not back down a single inch", he stated. Matthew Whitaker had previously stated that Washington will use all available military capabilities if Iran refuses to enter into an agreement within a "reasonable timeframe". Fox News reported that US negotiations with Iran continue, despite threats from Donald Trump to intensify attacks.
"We secretly seized millions of barrels of Iranian oil overnight"
The United States secretly transferred millions of barrels of oil from Iran in overnight operations, US President Donald Trump revealed, according to Reuters. "Did you know that we were seizing millions of barrels of oil? Nobody knows it. Until now, not even Iran knew it. Recently, we seized 22 ships. Late at night, with no power. Given that they had no radar [in the region], we knocked their lights out in the bombings", he stated.
Donald Trump added that he decided to reveal this now because, as he said, Iran "realized what was happening". According to the US leader, this is exactly what helped contain the rise in oil prices, which, as he claims, remain around 85 dollars per barrel. It is noted that yesterday 10/6, the US president stated that a peace agreement between Washington and Tehran has already been drafted and the only thing remaining for the Iranian side was to sign it. "All they have to do is start signing the document. It is all ready", stated the US leader. However, within just 24 hours the diplomatic landscape shifted dramatically.
Unprecedented slap to the US from India - Diplomatic... rage and delivery of protest to the ambassador
Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs of India summoned the US Chargé d'Affaires Jason Meeks for explanations to protest the attack on a commercial vessel that resulted in three Indian sailors going missing, ANI reported. This move came after New Delhi condemned the attack on the commercial vessel Settebello off the coast of Oman, which had 24 crew members (all Indian citizens) on board. Twenty-one sailors were rescued and three remain missing. India reiterated its call for de-escalation, protection of commercial shipping, and restoration of maritime security in international waters. Earlier, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) of the Royal Navy of Great Britain reported that it received reports of an incident 20 naval miles (37 km) northeast of Sohar, which is located near the entrance of the Strait of Hormuz. The incident occurred the day after the Indian Coast Guard announced the rescue of 24 Indian crew members from a Palau flagged commercial tanker. The rescue operation was carried out jointly with the authorities of Oman following a missile attack on the vessel.
Pezeshkian: Iran will stand tall, it does not succumb to threats - You are in despair
A message of determination was sent by the President of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian, stating that his country will "remain standing" in the face of threats from Donald Trump for a new military escalation. In a post on platform X, Pezeshkian condemned the warnings about potential targeting of Iranian infrastructure, arguing that threats against transport, electricity, and water supply networks are not an indication of strength, but a "sign of despair in the face of the will of a nation". The intervention of the Iranian president came a few minutes after the statements of US President Donald Trump, who warned that the US will strike Iran "very hard" if there is no progress in the negotiations, further escalating the tension between the two countries. The new statements reflect the particularly tense climate prevailing in the region, as US-Iranian relations have entered a new phase of confrontation after recent military operations and mutual strikes. At the same time, Tehran signals that it will not succumb to pressure, while Washington keeps the threat of further military action on the table.
Global shock: Traffic in the Straits of Hormuz is not expected to be restored before 2027
For its part, the US Department of Energy officially admitted that traffic in the Strait of Hormuz is not going to be restored to pre-conflict levels before 2027. The economist Nikita Komarov made similar assessments, noting that the US is essentially beginning to prepare the oil market for the worst-case scenario. Under this light, Brent oil prices took a dive, almost touching 90 dollars per barrel. What is the reason? First, the western press continues its communication interventions, funneling literally daily "inside information" about allegedly "successful negotiations". In reality, we see them evolving "successfully" for ten weeks now, Nikita Komarov underlines meaningfully. He adds that a much more important factor in the current juncture is the fact that China reduced its oil imports by 4.4 million barrels per day compared to the average of the last six months. "This is a huge volume that was funneled into other markets. There is nothing unusual about this. China traditionally buys oil for its stocks at low prices and stops doing so when prices rise", the expert explains. Summarizing, he stresses that the current situation is slightly different. In March and April, China continued to aggressively increase its imports, even of expensive oil, as uncertainty hung over the market. But China currently holds nearly 1.7 billion barrels of "black gold". This is a huge number, so they decided to adopt a wait-and-see stance for now, the economist concludes. It is worth adding that today, US President Donald Trump threatened again with a resumption of the bombings against Iran. Under the weight of these statements, oil prices are beginning to head upward once again.
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